We hypothesize that cultural narratives such as myths and folktales are more likely to achieve cultural stability if they correspond to a minimally counterintuitive (MCI) cognitive template that includes mostly intuitive concepts combined with a minority of counterintuitive ones. Two studies tested this hypothesis, examining whether this template…

In three experiments, 18-month-olds were tested in a deferred imitation paradigm. Some infants received verbal information during the demonstration and at the time of the test (full narration), and some did not (empty narration). When tested after a 4-week delay, infants given full narration exhibited superior retention relative to infants given…

In 4 experiments, students received a lesson consisting of computer-based animation and narration or a lesson consisting of paper-based static diagrams and text. The lessons used the same words and graphics in the paper-based and computer-based versions to explain the process of lightning formation (Experiment 1), how a toilet tank works…

This finding aid describes collections in the Archive of Folk Culture of the Library of Congress that document the traditional music and folklife of Alaska. Brief descriptions of the recordings are accompanied by identification numbers. Information about listening to or ordering any of the listed recordings is available from the Archive of Folk…

One of the biggest complaints shared by writing teachers is that students lack a sense of self. Writing handbooks and teachers are full of advice and exercises pointed at assisting students in finding their voice, their persona as writers. One method that may assist writing students in finding that voice would introduce students to spy fiction.…

The retelling of a familiar story is analyzed as a narrative event, particularly when the story is told by more than one person in a group. Three important functions of retelling a familiar story are identified: (1) to foster group rapport; (2) to ratify group membership; and (3) to convey group values. Often the three functions co-exist in the…

This collection contains five papers on discourse in a variety of languages. "A Stratificational Perspective on the Discourse Structure of Limos Kalinga" by Hartmut Wiens demonstrates the value of the stratificational model in looking at language in relatively small portions at various levels while also showing how its structural aspects…

The development of English syntactic maturity was investigated among Chinese secondary school students learning English as a second language. Narrative and expository compositions written by 60 students at three grade levels were analyzed for increases in T-unit length, clause length, number of clauses per T-unit, and the use of nominals,…

Two speech events, narration and joking conversation, are analyzed from speech samples of Hawaiian 5- to 7-year-olds. An underlying iterative routine was found which allows for both stories and joking to be produced jointly in a contrapuntal style. (Author/RM)

A study investigated the role of certain discourse and language processing factors in the production of narratives under controlled conditions. Subjects watched a short segment from a movie and then narrated the events to a researcher. The narrations were taped, transcribed, and analyzed in terms of such factors as: (1) the number and types of…

Divided into two parts, this slide narration covers India's history, people, religions, geography, and architecture. The first part, "Introduction: Country, People, and History," covers the general history of India and its people. The history is presented through: (1) the architecture, including the Palace of Winds, the Amber Fort, the…

Using a neo-Piagetian structural analysis, two studies examined developmental differences in the oral narratives of children aged four to ten years. The first experiment, reporting on 20 children at each of the dimensional substages (mean ages of 4.8, 6.1, 8.5, and 10.6 years), showed that a qualitative shift occurred between four and six years…

In order to compare how healthy and troubled corporations communicate with their shareholders, a study examined the narrative of the 1982 annual report of 50 of America's best-run corporations (as compiled by Thomas Peters and Robert Waterman for their book, "In Search of Excellence"). The focus was on the letter to the stockholders--the…

One alternative approach for assessing the moral quality of public argument in liberal democracy is narrative ethics, based not in procedural rationality but in narrative, with a concern for character and community. To be intelligible and practicable, such criticism shifts the focus of ethics from discrete decisions and actions to questions of…

A collection of texts in Upper Tanudan Kalinga, a language spoken by about 3,000 people in three villages in the Philippines, includes texts recorded and transcribed from native speakers, edited for clarity and style, and checked for accuracy of cultural content. Four types of discourse-genre are represented: narrative-fiction and…